Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
1. Technical Field
This invention relates to speed verification devices and, more particularly, to a vehicle speed verification device including means for verifying vehicle speed when a police laser or radar signal locks onto the vehicle.
2. Prior Art
Often, motorists receive speeding tickets that are not deserved. Three main reasons why speeding tickets are not deserved include (1) improper calibration of police radar equipment, (2) operation of police radar equipment by inexperienced police personnel, and (3) improper target identification. In this latter category, it is well known that the strength of a signal being employed by police personnel to measure vehicle speed, when that signal is sensed at the police vehicle, is inversely proportional to the fourth power of the distance (D4) between the police vehicle and the intended target. This is because the strength of the signal decreases proportional to D2 from the police vehicle to the target and again proportional to D2 from the target back to the vehicle.
Furthermore, as is also known, the strength of the reflected signal is proportional to the surface area of the target. Thus, for example, the surface area of the front of the cab of an 18-wheel truck may be five times as large as the surface area of the front of an ordinary car. Thus, if such a car and truck are traveling side-by-side, the reflected signal from the truck will be five times as strong as that of the car. Therefore, it should be understandable that when such a truck is following a car, it is quite possible that a speed-measuring device will measure the speed of the truck even though the car is closer to the police vehicle.
Accordingly, it often occurs that police radar measures a larger vehicle further away from the police radar than the smaller vehicle which is eventually stopped and whose owner is subsequently charged with a speeding offense. It is with these aspects in mind that the present invention was developed.
In view of the foregoing background, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device that can concurrently verify the speed of a vehicle when a police laser or radar locks onto the vehicle. These and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention are provided by a vehicle speed verification device including a housing including a display screen for illustrating a vehicle speed. The housing is electrically connected to a vehicle transmission and a vehicle speedometer. The display screen preferably includes a LED meter and a speedometer needle cooperating with the LED meter for indicating a vehicle speed. Also, the display screen may include an LCD display.
The device further includes a power supply source connected to the housing and for selectively supplying power thereto. The device further includes a system for detecting when a speed-measuring device locks onto a vehicle and another system for concurrently determining a vehicle speed and displaying same when the detecting system sends a signal to the determining system. The detecting system may include a laser and a radar detector.
The determining system preferably includes a central processing unit and a memory unit connected thereto. The central processing unit sends signals to the memory unit for storing a vehicle speed thereat. The device may further include a system for printing the speed of a vehicle. Such a system is connected to the central processing unit and preferably includes a data system for printing time, date, month and year of speed verification.